Noblesse Oblige
by thefanficwriter
Summary: Koenma reflects on his past, from meeting Botan to becoming the Crown Prince of the Spirit World. Botan, on the other hand, revisits a time she'd rather leave behind.
1. Dreams

**A/N: **This idea has been in my head for ages now, having gone through so many revisions (starting out only being meant for Botan alone). Basically this is kind of a back-story to both Koenma and Botan that I made up since there's really not that much about them. I originally planned for this to be a series, but as of right now I don't know if that's going to happen. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the upcoming ones as well. Also, for those disclaimer-nazis out there, I don't own YYH. I only own the OCs and this story. I'll only say that once so keep that in mind.

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><p><strong>Noblesse Oblige<strong>

**I. Dreams**

_"Falling for a commoner is one thing, Nobuhiro. Falling for a human—even a _demon_—is another."_

_The young deity sighed and looked at him directly in the eye with a stern, yet pleading expression. "I know. That is why I'm denouncing my position and passing down my duties to _you_." _

_"What? But—Oniisama—"_

_"I know this may seem selfish, but I cannot rule this world knowing I can't be with the woman I love. As my brother, it is your duty to protect the throne—both our father's and the Crown Prince, is it not?"_

_In response, he nodded. _

_"Then I trust that the Spirit World will be in good hands. I hope you can forgive me someday."_

_ "But Nobuhiro—wait—"_

_In a matter of seconds, he vanished out of thin air—something he didn't recall happening before—and he was left alone. _

"Nobuhiro—"

What? He didn't remember going to his room last night—let alone leaving his office at all, _or_ changing into his pajamas. So how exactly did he get—

Oh, of course…_her_.

"Awake already?" the blue-haired ferry-girl queried, going in the room with a cup of hot who-knows-what in her hand. Coffee, perhaps? Maybe so; she'd been drinking that quite often since Shizuru introduced them to her. According to her, it was supposed to help one stay awake; oddly for the both of them, it gave quite the opposite effect.

"How did you manage to get me in here?" he asked her as she sat herself on the foot of his bed, leaving the cup on his nightstand.

"I had help. I saw you dozing off in your desk, so I figured I'd carry you in here. Being the prude you are, I called George on the way to change you into those," she replied, pointing to his clothes.

"But what about the—"

"Oh yes, the workload. Took care of it already. Although, there are several documents that need your signature. I placed them in a green folder on your desk," she answered once more with a smile. "And don't even think about sneaking out to get them done! You need the rest, Koenma. We both know that."

Knowing he won't be able to win this fight anyway, he just nodded and gave thanks to the girl.

"Here, drink this—it should help," she said, handing him the cup which she had placed on his nightstand just a moment ago.

Ah, so it was for _him_? Figures…now he _really_ can't get out of this one.

"Sleep well, prince," she told him before leaving the room completely.

_Sleep well…_

He could only hope.


	2. A Mission

**A/N: **Yay, people actually read it! Thanks for the reviews, you guys (at least I know I'm not the only one who loves them anymore...really now, there aren't much fics for this pair). I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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><p><strong>Noblesse Oblige<strong>

**II. A Mission**

_Read, read read. _

_Stamp, stamp. Read, sign._

_RRRIIINNGGG—answer phone call._

"Master Nobuhiro—"

_More work. _

_Read, read, read._

_Stamp, stamp, stamp._

This was the daily routine. He found it quite mundane, to be honest. If he was fortunate enough, he'd be able to go out for a few hours to fetch souls that ferry-girls aren't able to get due to scheduling conflicts (but of course, that rarely happened) or sit through another one of those council meetings held by either his father or the Chief Councilor.

So _this _is what being the Crown Prince felt like…how he wished he wasn't the firstborn! But of course, what could he do? It was his duty to rule the land after all.

His brother was lucky. All he had to do was keep watch in and around the kingdom along with the guards. Not that it was any easier, considering those intruders were mostly A-Class demons, which aren't exactly the easiest to subdue. His brother was no Crown Prince but being the brother of one, his duty was to keep the Crown safe; making sure the kingdom unharmed was part of it. Occasionally, he would be in his or their father's office to help with documents or any other work could offer his assistance—for that, he was thankful for delegating his workload was the only other way he could escape from his duties if only for a little while.

_Lucky bastard…_

"Nobuhiro!"

_Ah, speak of the devil_…

"What is it, Koenma?"

"Take a look at these," his younger twin said, urgency present in his voice as he slapped a scroll of parchment on his desk; along with it, an envelope of records of—demon _slaves_?

"Demon slavery is a serious matter, Oniisama," his brother informed him. "I've looked over the files of the Komatsuzaki family as well as their accomplices. The seals—"

"Komatsuzaki, you say? Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the family of the retired captain of the Special Defense Force, Tamotsu Komatsuzaki?"

"He's the one, Oniisama. According to his records, father gave him a small portion of the Shiga prefecture to preside over for his services and his loyalty to him. He and his wife, Kayo, at the time had only two sons – Ebisu and Rinshan. Years after the land was given to them, they had more children—four daughters – Masae, Kaede, Arisa, and Amaya. Three of them, they married off to aristocratic families around the area," he explained. "By doing so, this allowed their territory to be expanded and thus giving them more control."

"Members of the SDF, once retired or relieved of their duties, are stripped of their abilities in order. Captain Komatsuzaki retired hundreds of years ago, Koenma. How on earth did they manage to run something like this for this long undetected? " the Crown Prince asked, suspicious of the integrity of the papers sitting on his desk, for demon slavery was indeed a serious matter. Starting out amongst rival demon tribes a millennium ago, they ranged from being laborers to pawns of the higher classes in fights, to even sex slaves. However, these records told of demons being traded between the Human World _and _the Spirit World as well! If these were acts truly committed by aristocratic families of the Spirit World, how was this even possible?

"I don't know, Oniisama, which is why we need to further investigate this case" the latter answered. "There is no way these documents could be false. Each of them bear the seal of not only the Komatsuzaki clan and their accomplices, the Nagai, Yamakawa, Saito, and Yanaihara families, but also several well-known slave traders in the Demon World _and_ the Human World. According to the files of the four other aristocratic families, none of them have ever been a part of the SDF, meaning the Komatsuzaki clan is the mastermind of the operation."

The Crown Prince looked at the seals closely. Each one not only contained the family names of the aristocrats but their crests as well – a red chrysanthemum for the Nagai family, an orange carp and a cresent moon for the Yamakawa family, a green mountain for the Saito family, a golden oak leaf for the Yanaihara family, and a black crane for the Komatsuzaki family. His brother was right – there was no way these were counterfeits.

"Very well," he said, deciding it would be best to go with his brother's suggestion to further examine the case, "tell the ogres to summon Ayame at once and order someone to take her shift. I'll have her accompany me to the Shiga Prefecture. We should be able to discover where the main site of the slave trade is, wherever it may be; my best guess though, is the Demon World since that's where it all started."

"Of course, but what about—"

"Ah, yes about that—you _will _be able to fill in for me for the time being, yes? After all I'm going to need someone to contact as soon as we find the site," he told his younger brother.

Unable to refuse his brother's "request", he simply nodded and said, "yes, Oniisama" before exiting the room. Since it was _his_ duty to protect the Crown, he felt it only fitting to have him take the case instead of his brother. However, knowing he couldn't argue with someone of a higher ranking than himself, he submitted to his brother's orders as he had always done.

"Demon slavery…finally something happened around here," thought the Crown Prince as his younger twin left the room. Not that he was entirely pleased about the situation, but he was thankful he could finally escape the platitudinous duties bestowed upon him.


	3. Under the Oak Tree

**A/N: **First off, let me start by thanking all of you that have reviewed, alerted, and/or favorited this story. Second, I would like to apologize for the late update. See, even though I work at an environment with a bunch of computers, it's quite noisy, therefore I cannot write as much as I'd like. Finally, I hope you enjoy this chapter, as well as the others that will follow it in the future. I am currently writing and planning the fourth chapter so please bear with me. You'll also notice a pattern as this story progresses: present-past-present-past-present-past-present-past. Eventually, that pattern will break but you'll be able to tell, so the only advice I can give you when that happens is just to be aware of the characters and events in the chapters, current and past.

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><p><strong>Noblesse Oblige<strong>

**III. Under the Oak Tree**

The Daioh family – for generations they have ruled the entire Spirit World. First, Hidemaru, who presided over the land for over seven thousand years, followed by his eldest daughter, Asahana, who ruled for a little over six thousand years until her death (contrary to popular Human World belief, beings of the Spirit World do, in fact, pass away. This process is what they like to call reincarnation, in which a being of the Spirit World lives again in either one of the two co-existing worlds). Since she ruled without a husband by her side and thus produced no heir (although rumor has it that Asahana did fall in-love with a man—the commander from her army—but they chose not to pursue a relationship because the man was married with children, and she certainly _did not_ want to be accused of being a home-wrecker. Such a label was not fit for a queen, and would be most appalling!), the throne was left to her brother Akihiro's son, Enma. Unlike Enma's predecessors, on the contrary, his term only lasted two centuries-and-a half due to his corrupt ways. Instead of being succeeded by his first son, the original  
>Crown Prince, Nobuhiro, he was replaced by the young man's younger twin, Koenma, the one who had put a stop to his crimes thus resulting in his impeachment.<p>

Up until his father and his older brother, Koenma Daioh had been succeeded by someone who had kept not only the Spirit World, but also the Human and Demon Worlds, in good hands. Each one of maintained amongst them; protected them. But his father and his brother…

His father was a sham! How _dare_ he punish demons just for the sake of vanity. He may have sealed away the Netherworld, but that was still _nothing _compared to what demons had to suffer in the hands of humans. It was no surprise why demons hated them then. And Nobuhiro…Oh, if only he hadn't abandoned his position he would have made such a great leader, such a great king indeed! Then again, it was his heart that had made that decision; who was he to try and stop it?

Koenma sighed and leaned against the trunk of a lone oak tree. His oak tree…

"You've been coming here quite often."

Or rather, _their _oak tree…

"Care to tell me what's on your mind?" she asked, leaning against the tree too, as she stood next to him.

He turned his head to face her, and with an amused smile asked, "would you believe me if I said I wanted to see you?"

The blue-haired ferry-woman laughed.

"Nice try, but no—although, that _would have_ worked two-hundred years ago," she kidded, which made him lighten up a little, thankfully.

"You know," he said, "I really hate how you know me too well sometimes."

"I know, I know. I love me too," she replied, which made him roll his eyes at her.

Not bothering to compose a witty reply, he began, "Botan, do you think I'm…" he paused, trying to think of better words to say, "do you think I'm—I'm worthy of my position? O-or rather, what I'm about to become? Being king of the Spirit World, I mean."

_Ah, so that's what's bothering him._

"Why wouldn't you be?" she queried. "If anything, I strongly believe either Nobuhiro or you would make a much better king than your father."

He turned his head to face her once again, curiosity blatant on his visage.

"Forgive my frankness, but unlike your coward, facetious father, you two have attributes he _certainly _lacks have—loyalty, bravery, determination, and wits. Sure, you may have others to fight battles for you more often than not, but you're willing to risk your life just for the sake of others. Unlike him, you're not afraid to take the blame for your own faults; sometimes it's even you that suffers _because_ of others' mistakes, yet you make no complaint. You're willing to go to extreme lengths just to achieve what you need, stopping at nothing to pursue it; in your brother's case, he was willing to give up his position just to be with Namie," she explained. "I'm aware that even now your brother still isn't in very friendly terms with me, considering what he knew the day he saw me, but if it wasn't for the both of you I'll probably be rotting in the Vortex of Oblivion right about now—that, or trying to hide from my captors." The blue-haired ferry-woman paused and looked up at him, making sure his eyes were directly into hers. With a soft expression, and a small smile, she asked him, "now, Koenma-sama, do you still think you're unworthy to become our king?"

Silence…

"You're not just saying that just because I'm the one paying you, are you?" he asked (jokingly, of course), his expression appearing genuinely curious (just to mess with her).

And as he expected, _it worked_…

"GAAAAAAAHHHHH! KOENMA!"

Quite marvelously, in fact—at the expense of several bruises and a headache afterwards.

Several minutes later, she finally ceased hitting him and he was left to tend to his own wounds as she sat next to him, polishing her oar.

"You know, if I wanted to lie to you I'd tell you I'd rather try and to become Kurama's concubine—" she said, with which he commented, "good luck with that!" and got hit once more.

"As I was saying," she continued, "if I were lying to you, I'd tell you I'd much prefer other men's company than yours, and that you look rather _dashing_ with that pacifier and _beg_ for you to get it back!"

"I'd prefer not to have it, but if you insist I'll probably consider it..." he mused, cupping his chin.

"Ugh," she said, placing a palm on her forehead in aggravation, "my knight in shining armor is a child!"

"A _handsome_ child at that," he added proudly, earning himself a glare from his companion.

"Don't push it," she hissed through gritted teeth.

Ah, this is what he loved about her. She could not only have the ability to make him smile, but he could also mess with her successfully. The only con, of course, was getting hit with her oar repeatedly, but it was all worth catching her off-guard.


	4. Double Duties

**A/N: **For those wondering about the Vortex of Oblivion, you will find out more about that soon in the later chapters. For now, though, here's chapter four. Hope you enjoy it!

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><p><strong>Noblesse Oblige<strong>

**IV. Double Duties**

_Read, read read._

_Stamp, stamp. Read, sign._

_RRRIIINNGGG—answer phone call._

"Master Nobuhiro—oh, it's you, Lord Koenma!"

_More work._

_Read, read, read._

_Stamp, stamp, stamp._

Ugh. No wonder Nobuhiro hated his job. Poor thing, he thought.

As he did his brother's work, he wondered how the ogres and other employees were able to distinguish them despite their completely identical features. Was it perhaps, the Maafuken?

Yes, that had to be it.

His brother was the lucky one. His mother dearest decided it would be "best" for the younger twin to wear the Maafuken as a_ pacifier_. A PACIFIER! He got a pacifier, while his brother—his twin brother older than him by _five minutes_—got a ring.

"It is not proper for a Crown Prince his age to be wearing such a thing," his mother would tell him every time he asked about it.

"But Okaasama, I'm five-hundred years old! I'm just the same age as him," he would argue.

"Oh, but you're younger, Koenma," his mother would reply. These words would typically be followed by a giggle and a round of cheek-pinching from her as she said, "and you will always be _my wittle baby_!"

Ugh. What a life. A baby. That was what his mother thought of him. A_ child_. Yet she treated his brother like the adult he was. His older brother. By five minutes. Oh, the irony.

"Master Nobu—oh, it's you, Lord Koenma," said an ogre with yet another stack of papers.

Great. Another one. Just great.

"Lord Koenma, these papers need to be—sir, where are you going?" asked the ogre as he watched the prince walk away and pocket his Mafuuken.

"The documents can wait," the informed young prince informed his employee.

"But sir—"

"Ogre, I have another duty to attend to. I may be taking my brother's place in his temporary absence, but I mustn't abandon my own duties," he said. "Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I'll be making my rounds in the kingdom right about now."

And with that, he exited the room, leaving behind a confused ogre and about four stacks (and counting, he assumed) in his brother's office.

Koenma considered himself lucky for the past three days. At least while doing his brother's work he didn't have to deal with any intruders; any demons, most importantly. Every now and then he would need to intervene in several fights here or there but other than that, there were no other problems. In an occupation like this one though, there were absolutely no breaks. He was to answer at everyone's beck and call—if not at the ogres with the seemingly endless stacks of documents, it was at his father's; if not at his father's, it was at the Royal Council's; if not at the Royal Council's, it was at citizens of the Spirit World, wherever they may be.

"You insolent street rat!"

Like that one, for instance.

"Do you have any idea how much money this kimono cost me?"

The young prince observed the scene ahead of him – a small child crying as he clung to the kimono of a young woman (a family friend, he supposed; she looked far too young to be his mother, and certainly bore no resemblance to the child whatsoever), the young woman speaking quite angrily to an older woman who was—ah, it was _her_. No wonder…

He approached the two women and the child, and immediately he was greeted with a bow. In return, he acknowledged them with a nod.

"Mrs. Kinomoto," he began, looking at the older woman, "what seems to be the problem here?"

The woman let out a small nervous laugh—out of embarrassment, he assumed—and answered, "why, Your Majesty, everything is _perfectly_ alright. I've—"

"Forgive me for interrupting your exchange, Your Majesty, but_ this woman_ as you might have already noticed, is not speaking the truth!" protested the young woman—a newcomer, he supposed, for he'd never seen her around town before. She did, however, look oddly familiar, which he found quite curious.

"I beg your pardon?" cried the pompous Mrs. Kinomoto, placing a hand on her chest in mock astonishment.

"This woman, Your Majesty, had hit this child merely because of a little accident. He was just running home from school, you see, and had tripped, soiling this woman's kimono with some dirt," the young woman explained.

"Is this true, Mrs. Kinomoto?" asked the young prince, already knowing the answer, looking at the boy's wounds.

"Why—in my defense, Your Majesty," the old woman stammered as she struggled to compose a convincing reply, "the material of this kimono is quite expensive, and—f-for it to be ruined by such a careless, immature _brat_, if you can imagine, is most infuriating!"

"But isn't it more immature, Your Majesty, to be so injurious over something so minute as a piece of cloth?" argued the young woman.

"_Minute_? Why you—"

"This young lady is correct, madam," said Koenma, much to the old woman's dismay. "Now if the material, as you have stated, is quite pricey, why did you choose to walk around wearing it? You could have simply avoided colliding with the boy by taking either a car or a horse carriage. We have an abundance of carriages in this part of the Spirit World; it shouldn't be any trouble for you to get one, don't you think?"

Once again, the woman struggled to speak but could not think of any words to counter the young prince's argument.

"I will not tolerate this kind of behavior, Mrs. Kinomoto. If you remain this way, I would be more than happy to demote your husband's ranking, which I am sure he won't be so pleased about, especially when he finds out who caused it," he warned.

"But Your Majesty I—"

"Such behaviors are very unbecoming, Mrs. Kinomoto. A woman of your standing—_especially_ of your standing—should know that. Just what will outsiders think of this city when they come across people like you?"  
>He paused, as though waiting for a reply, and continued after a moment. "I do not wish to hear of this again, Mrs. Kinomoto," he told the woman. He then eyed the small child, turned to the young woman and said, "I'm very sorry you had to go through this, my lady. If it's any consolation, shall I—"<p>

"You needn't apologize for anything, Your Majesty," interrupted the young woman. "If anything, it should be the people who should be responsible for their own actions, not their leaders," she added, glaring at the woman as she spoke. "Now if you may excuse me, I must get going now. I've to escort this child home to his family." And with those final words, she bowed and walked away, leaving behind the young prince.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

_Work._

That was all he'd done for the past three weeks.

_Work._

_Work, work_, and more_ work_.

Endless stacks of documents, patrolling in the kingdom, answering telephone calls, judging fates of souls brought in by ferry-women, and Royal Council meetings. What was even worse was that it had been three weeks since his brother had fled to the Shiga region and still, no feedback. Oh, how he wished for Nobuhiro to be home already!

Koenma sighed as another ogre delivered yet a new stack of documents for him to read.

Great…_just_ great.

Having had enough for the day, he decided to the only place he knew where no one else would find him; where he there would be no interruptions; where he could clear his mind. His secret place…the oak tree near a cliff in the deepest part of the forest in the next town. It was dusk already; soon the sky would darken and the stars would show. Now would be the perfect time to leave.

On the way, his thoughts were filled with easiness. Filled with thoughts of himself finally being able to relax. Finally being alone. Those fantasies, much to his dismay, were shattered when he saw a figure sitting under his favorite spot.

_Oh,_ great. _Just_ great.

Ah, well. The only thing he could hope for was whoever that person was, that he or she wasn't one of his employees.

"It's you," he said upon arrival, recognizing the familiar face. It was the young woman from just this afternoon.

"Y-your Majesty," she immediately stood up in an attempt to greet him but he stopped her. "I didn't know this place already belonged to someone! I-if it helps you, I can—"

"No need for you to leave, miss. Since you and I are both here, why don't we just share the place? There's no harm in doing so on my part. You were here before me; it would be very impolite for you to leave just because of me," he told the girl, smiling lightly.

"Very well, then. A-as you wish, Your Majesty," said the young woman.

He then looked at the girl as though asking for permission to sit beside her. In response, she nodded and he settled right next to her.

"You're a newcomer here, aren't you?" he asked, deciding it would be best to start a conversation rather than sitting in awkward silence.

"Y-yes," the young woman replied, "yes, I am."

"I truly am sorry for what happened earlier today. I know Mrs. Kinomoto isn't the best citizen, but I assure you, not everyone in this part of the Spirit World is like her," he said.

"As I've said, Your Majesty, it shouldn't be you who should be apologizing for others' faults. You're their leader, not their babysitter. And don't worry about Mrs. Kinomoto—I've met many people like her back home; I'm used to dealing with them. As a matter of fact, there isn't very much of her kind here. You have no idea how much that relieves me," she explained to him with a smile.

"Ah, so you've been around aristocrats?" he asked, intrigued. "Where do you come from?"

"From Otsu, Your Majesty. The capital of Shiga" she replied.

"The boy from earlier—is he alright?"

"Oh, yes, sir. His father did worry about him, though. I can't blame him for it either." she said, she pausing to sigh before continuing, "I really hate how arrogant some nobles can be. Sure, they may be higher in standing than others, but that shouldn't give them the right to belittle others below them. They act like they're gods of the world, yet when it all comes down to it, they're still just commoners; just like everybody else. Hmph…stupid social climbers."

"Not all of them are like that, you know. Like Mrs. Kinomoto, I mean. There are some nice ones," he told her.

"Oh, I'm aware of that," replied the young woman. "If all other aristocrats were like the pleasurable few, this world would be so much better. But that's not how it works now, does it, Your Highness? I hear some people try to invade this area constantly in pursue of control."

"Sadly, yes," answered the prince, "subduing intruders isn't the easiest job in the world, especially if it's an inside job. I've had cases where a member of the Royal Council try to steal the crown. Believe it or not, investigating such cases is much harder than fighting an A-class demon. I'd prefer doing the latter over investigations any day."

"Ah, a prince with a violent streak? That's something you don't see everyday," she commented with a laugh."Well, it's not that. It's just that at least actual intrusion is direct; you don't have to figure out the mastermind.

That's why it's much easier. Don't get me wrong though, demons are very hard to fight. Why, if I didn't have any powers I would've failed at hand-to-hand combat," he explained.  
>She looked at him from head to toe and back. With a snicker, she teased, "you don't look like you're that strong anyway. You have people to do it for you, huh?"<p>

"Well, to tell you the truth, I have people who do _help_ me, but they don't necessarily do the work_ for_ me. As brother of the Crown Prince it is my duty to—"

The young woman laughed. "Relax, I know what you mean, Your Majesty."

"Clever girl," he said, genuinely impressed by the young woman's personality. "What is your name?"

"My name?" she repeated, as though suddenly surprised to hear such a question. It took the young woman a moment to compose a response. Finally after picking up a peony between them, she replied, "Botan. You may call me Botan."

"Very well," the young prince said with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Botan."


	5. Promises

**Noblesse Oblige**

**V. Promises**

He had no idea that he would be reduced to this. This man – the man whom he once feared, whom he had so many times defied—his predecessor, the Great King Enma, reduced to practically nothing. And it troubled him more than anything else he had ever faced. How could a man, trusted, admired, even _worshiped_ betray the trust of his own countrymen? His own world? What led him to do something so horrible towards those who never intended to harm anyone, let alone _him_? He could have been a great ruler. He could have improved the three worlds, the Human and Demon worlds, especially, yet he chose to create chaos.

Now it's all come to _this_…

Impeachment.

A dishonorable discharge.

A death sentence.

And in a few moments, a journey through the River Styx into the Vortex of Oblivion.

It made him sick just thinking about it.

His father, a _traitor_. And him…what exactly does this make _him_? The prosecutor? The replacement? A mere traitor's spawn? A murderer? Of course…a _murderer._The traitor and the murderer. What a shame.

It took him every ounce of energy he possessed to resist breaking down right then and there as he watched the warden open his father's cell. And if it weren't for Botan holding him the entire time, he swore he would have collapsed to the ground (Thank heavens she agreed to accompany him)! His father, the Great King Enma, was now a withered prisoner—and he looked so weak…so _fragile_. His hair was thinning, his thick, long beard had turned gray, his eyes looked as though he had not slept in days, and he'd lost weight—quite a lot of it, in fact. Looking at him now, one would have a hard time believing this was the same man who brainwashed passing demons and ordered them to attack humans who, in turn, eliminated them. How pitiful.

"You have thirty minutes until he is escorted to the River Styx, Your Highness," said the warden as they entered.

The prince nodded.

"Will you be alright here?" asked his blue-haired companion in concern, to whom he also nodded in response.

"Very well," she said, before finally leaving.

"The final stage of the draining of powers is over," his father said as he seated himself on the concrete floor in front of him. "In about a week you will be going through training in Hokkaido, yes?"

Koenma nodded.

"In my absence," he said, "Botan will be taking care of my duties with the help of Jorge. I've already prepared a replacement ferry-woman for the time being."

"You're not leaving the Chief Councilor in charge?"

He shook his head.

"With all due respect, I'd rather not leave them in charge. Those men have enough power; presiding over my duties, even for a little while, may have them seek for more. I'd rather not deal with another case like this again," he explained. "Botan has been with me long enough; I trust her enough to know what to do, and what not to do. Besides, she's going to have to get used to this kind of work as the future queen of the Spirit World."

"Ah, so the Council has sanctioned your marriage?"

"No," the prince replied, shaking his head once more, "but they _are _going to have to soon if they're expecting an heir from me."

"You're really going through with this? Marrying that young woman, I mean," asked his father, his amusement blatant in his tone.

"Of course I am," he answered in a matter-of-factly manner, "and I have every intention to do whatever it takes. I refuse to marry and mate with a total stranger, as the council suggests that I do, just for the sake of keeping the bloodline 'pure'. I find the notion ridiculous."

Enma sighed. He wasn't surprised to hear such things come from his son; the boy after all, did have a defiant streak (like harboring a fugitive and defending a Spirit Detective who happened to be a potentially dangerous demon, just to name a few). How amusing, his determination was. The real question he had, however, was whether or not he would succeed in achieving _this_ goal. Koenma may have the determination and perseverance, but the Royal Council was just as persistent. That was what worried him.

Koenma, on the other hand, had other worries besides his relations with the blue-haired ferry-woman (an affair which his own father dubbed as an "illicit" affair when he discovered it; technically it wasn't, since no sexual acts were involved. Then again, any romantic affair with someone of a commoner status was considered "illicit" to just about every person of regal blood, which he found completely absurd). Not wanting to waste the few moments he had left of talking to his father, he decided to ask the question which had been rattling in his head since day one his father's impeachment—

"Why did you do it?"

"I-I…I don't know," he replied honestly, much to the prince's dismay.

The former king knew exactly what his son was talking about; no further explanations or elaborations were needed. Yet somehow, to this day, he still had no idea as to why he had chosen to do what he had done. Back then, it seemed like the perfect plan—to brainwash all the low-class demons into killing humans and appoint humans to kill those demons so that they may "protect" their own race in order to obtain whatever it is he needed from the Human World—but now…now he wished he could turn back and fix all those errors, bring back the lives of all those he had ordered to be killed. But that wasn't how life worked. Now he was paying for all of it. Paying with his life.

"I suppose it was the only way to get to the Human World's resources foolproof," he further explained. "At least that way, it would look like we were protecting humans while…while stealing from them. It was the perfect distraction."

The young prince couldn't believe what he was hearing. His suspicions had been correct, as it appeared, and Botan was right, too. It was all for selfish reasons. His father killed, just to steal. All of it was done, all for the sake of vanity All because of his father's greed. How appalling—how come he had not noticed it then? Why had it taken him this long to see this crime? All of it, for hundreds of years, had been happening right in front of him, yet he failed to see it.

"Father, we are supposed to protect _both_ the Demon and Human worlds," he told the former king, not knowing what else to say.

"I know," said his father, "I don't know what I was thinking. I hope—I hope you can forgive me…for all the things I've done. For all the pain I'd caused you."

Koenma sighed. This was all too much. He didn't think he could take it any longer…

"You're right," he started, hoping he could find the right words to say despite all the stress and pressure he was experiencing, "you _have _caused a lot of pain. Not only to me, but to my friends as well. To Botan, especially—from your mistreatment of her then, to your various attempts to have her jailed, to Yusuke and your efforts of having him exterminated, your tormenting of Nobuhiro when you found out about Namie, and now this."

Every word…every syllable that came out of his son's mouth hurt worse than a million lashings, burned more than acid being poured on a fresh wound. And he deserved _each and every one of them_.

"I should hate you for this, for everything," his son continued.

Yes, he thought, he definitely deserved this.

"Yet despite all these tribulations, I cannot bring myself to hate you," he concluded. "You are still my father after all; if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this world. I wouldn't be where I am now."

_I cannot bring myself to hate you…_

What a great wonder, this boy of his was. After everything he's done, he still couldn't bring himself to feel such atrocity towards him. Why, this was Nobuhiro he probably would not have taken the time to visit him on his last few minutes of living. If anything ,he probably would have only visited just to mock him. A great wonder, this boy was; a great wonder, indeed.

"Your Highness," said the warden to the young prince, making the both of them turn to the man's direction, "it's time."

The prince nodded tersely at the man and rose from his spot on the concrete. The gates were opened and two men entered, walking towards the former king's side.

The prince exited first, and with one final exchange of looks (one repenting, the other stoic), the prisoner was guided to a boat thus beginning the journey to his own end.

The traitor. And he, the murderer, was left alive.

_Murderer…_

Funny how fate played its pawns sometimes.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

She despised moments like this. She hated seeing him this way. There was no point in asking him what was wrong either; she already knew what his problem was. To make matters worse? She could do nothing about it. _Absolutely nothing_.

And she hated herself for that.

Had she ever felt the slightest bit of affection for her own family when she ran away, had she ever felt anything but animosity towards them she would have known what to say; would have known what to do.

_But there was nothing else_…

And right now, she couldn't hate herself any more.

Right now, there was only silence, save the noises of the papers which were being stacked, filed, turned, or signed.

_Uncomfortable silence…_

"Botan," the prince finally spoke.

Finally, she thought, perhaps he wanted to talk now?

"Will you fetch me Takayama's folder from the file cabinet? This needs to be placed there," he said.

Of course not, much to her dismay.

The blue-haired ferry-woman rose from her seat and took the folder from the file cabinet across the room. Once she returned, the prince spoke once more.

"Botan," he began, "do you think I did the right thing by having my father imprisoned because of his treason? I mean, I know it's what I'm supposed to do, considering the many lives he'd taken because of what he did, but somehow it doesn't feel right. He's still family after all." He paused. "I feel like a murderer."

Botan sighed.

"You are _not_a murderer, Koenma," she corrected him, almost snapping at him. Then with a softened voice she added, "don't ever think of yourself that way again."

_A murderer…_

So _that's _how he thought of himself.

She didn't know what hurt more any longer—the fact that Koenma thought of himself as the bigger criminal, or that she didn't know to say or do in order to comfort him. She could only watch as the prince once again lamented on his desk across her.

He sighed.

"I've lost far too much people already," he said as he read yet another document on his desk while she filed papers he had already signed.

He then lifted his head and looked at her, a pleading expression present in his eyes.

"Please promise me you won't go either," he said.

She smiled at him warmly and placed her hand over his.

"Now, why would I do that?" she asked. "Even if I tried, I won't be able to; I love you too much."

His lips curled to a small, weak, yet reassured smile and seeing that put her at ease. She may not have been able to help him much, but at least she was able to make him smile. That alone was enough for her.

* * *

><p>Remember when I said that the present-past-present will be broken eventually? Well, that's about to happen...the next chapter after this one shall be set in the present, about five days after this chapter. Originally I was going to write that chapter in this one but it just didn't seem to fit so I decided to separate them.<p> 


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